Is the shiit jotunheim multibit a good DAC?

I am looking forward to buying a new DAC/AMP for less then 600. So far my options are the shiit jotunheim multibit or either the Monolith by Monoprice Desktop Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology (Dual AKM 4493 DACs & Dual AAA-788 Modules) which I would have to wait as it still has not been released. Thing is I have searched online and people say that the jotunheim for its price point is good as an AMP because it can obviously have alot of power but when it comes to the DAC I was told is "acceptable" but it would be better to get a different DAC. If so, what DAC would best be paired with the jotunheim?

I don't know, as I don't own a Jotunheim with the multi-bit DAC. But what I can tell you is that I bought a Jotunheim with the AKG D/S DAC rather than spending the $100 extra on the multi-bit (and being willing to do so) at the advice/guidance of the SBAF community, which near-universally indicated to me that the built-in MB DAC on the Jot wasn't particularly good... some went so far as to say that the "new" AKG D/S DAC that Schiit is now using (and I got) was, in there opinions, BETTER than (and $100 less than) the multi-bit option.
TIFWIW.

The DAC on the jottunheim is passable, unfortunately the when amp is just passable due to the dynamic compression it has... Some people like that of course, but if at all possible - avoid.
Get yourself a 789+ SMSL su8 or just a Klipsch heritage amp.

I have several albums from Yarlung. Neither I nor a couple of guys from the music production program at my school could pass an ABX test comparing the original Direct to DSD recordings to the redbook downsample.

I am considering the exact same pair. The recent excellent measured performance of the MD THX AAA amp, paired with manufacturer measurements on Monoprice site (https://downloads.monoprice.com/files/specsheets/24459_Specifications_181029.zip, obviously take with a grain of salt), makes me think that Monoprice may very well deliver.
Schiit has also annoyed me a bit on the DAC side, with the stealth firmware upgrade to Modi MB. It'll be an interesting December for sure.

Hehe I actually own the micro idsd. It's costly but ridiculously powerful. The 3D/bass switches are really fun.
The -only- reason I would not recommend it, is if you are dead set on using balanced headphones via XLR. Otherwise the micro idsd is top of the line for me ^_^ highly recommended.
At full price the THX AAA from monoprice is cheaper than the ifi though. But yeah no reviews on that one out yet.

wow. Thats good to know. I saw the micro Idsd. I plan on buying a balanced headphones cable as why not. I can feed more power which is good since in the future I may buy headphones with high ohms. I would be getting the questyle over the idsd since it gives off more power and I saw on a Hifi forum from a person that owns both questyle and idsd saying that while the questyle gives off slightly more power the DAC is better. So now I will just have to wait for the monolith dac/amp. It is eye catching as it can give off more power than the questyle. But like I said I will have to wait for it to come out. I am in no rush though .

You could also save some money, and get great price to performance with the Massdrop Liquid Carbon X + SDAC DAC/Amp. Not sure how the two stack up with one another, but I hear they are both decent gear to start out with.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that the SE output of the LCX or any balanced amp is bad, it's just that they are almost always less powered, sometimes dramatically so. Only really an issue if you are hard wired to high impedance SE headphones. But also something to keep in mind when you compare the two outputs - we humans generally prefer louder sound.
At ~$99 the price of adding an excellent SE amp fork (Spark, Magni, MD O2) is comparable to many balanced cables that would be required to utilize the balanced out anyway. We are blessed to have many great options these days, and the LCX is one of the best :)

I have the Schiit Jotunheim multibit, I use it with my HD 58x, HD 6xx, DT770Pro, DT990Premium 600ohm and with my Akg7xx, and I have to tell you that it sounds Great, it gives the power you need to every headphones you put it into them. Powerful, Great sound, very well build, and a great price. Recommended it.

I have the Multibit Jotunheim. I use it from two sources 1) MacBook Pro with external SSD Flac files 2) Pioneer BluRay drive and via balanced inputs using a Pono.
I also picked up a Wyrd USB decrapifier. I don't know if I needed it or not.
I'm very happy with my purchase. It's my first DAC so I don't know how it stacks up vs the competition .
Edit to add:
I use the Jotunheim 4 Pin XLR Headphone output with HD6xx and Cardas balanced cables both purchased through Massdrop. Quite honestly it's my best audio experience I have heard.

Schitt audio is amazing, they make high quality products at a good price point, plus they're pretty nice to look at in addition to listening. I can't speak for the Jotunheim but the Valhalla 2 with a Modi Multibit had been driving my HD 800 S's to audio heaven. Plus... Tubes... Desk swag man
Since you mentioned it in replies to other comments, you can get a Valhalla 2 and a modi multibit for $650 full price, if you would rather have tubes,but that's not in a single unit

I use the Jotunheim Multibit w/ my LCD-X and I have to say it sounds fantastic. I ponied up and bought the LCD balanced cable to take full advantage of the amp. I wasn’t sure I would notice a difference going balanced so I switched back and forth w/ the cables at first and ended up sticking w/ the balanced cable. The noise floor on the LCD-X + Jotunheim combo is lower with the balanced cable. Granted you wouldn’t ever hear the noise floor unless the volume is cranked; the Jotunheim’s noise floor is vanishingly low.
If you’re looking for a neutral sounding DAC/Amp w/ loads of power on tap I would highly recommend Jotunheim. I’m very happy w/ the multibit card but I’ve heard Schiit DACs w/ the 4490 and they sound great as well.

I had the modi multibit, which some say is equivalent or better than the dac card on the jotunheim. It served me well with the 6xx until I bought an audio gd R2R dac as well as an LCD2. The LCD2 does well with plenty of power (that jotunheim can provide) and unless you have something to compare A-B right then and there, you might not notice much. Just don't go looking for something better once you get it cause there always will be. :)

I agree that this forum style is ridiculous if you were not replying to the post your comment was attached to. If the reply isn't going to be connected to the comment replied to, it shouldn't be touching any comment. People are supposed to guess? Context is obviously no help.
Back to the point, I find the opposite to be true - especially in the audiophile world. If a company puts money into marketing, you get products like Beats. Mass production results in the worst audiophile products and those companies use marketing to sell to uninformed buyers. Speakers and amps are relatively simple products and, with the exception of DACs/digital (which are also fairly simple to manufacture), not much has changed in 40 years - which means it is a field that sees a lot of start-ups by experienced engineers who leave their mass-production jobs to build quality products. These small engineer-owned companies rarely put money or effort into marketing materials. This is so common in audiophilia that your friends will soon learn that judging a product by the quality of its marketing will result in a lot of bad purchases.

I wasn’t referring to the beats, audioquest cables, Cardas isolation block, etc level of market to cover the mediocrity or uselessness of your product level of marketing. I agree that’s not the place to base your decisions.
I simply mean you need a level of polish that makes you look serious. The Eddie Current, ZMF, MrSpeakers, Airist Audio, etc. sites are all plenty attractive to save any detractions due to presentation. Audio-gd just stands out as a bizarrely low quality storefront.

I have the Jot with balanced-AK4490 chips and I think it sounds absolutely great. I've read a lot of similar opinions and was a little hesitant. Upon first listen I was immediately relieve as the unit sounded excellent, I've tried swapping in DAC's but I find the balanced-AK4490 (Cheap-Ass-Balanced) DAC did a perfectly fine job! Seriously, if you have the money then grab the Multi-bit version and be happy but if you're a penny pinching prick like me - then the 100 dollar solution is more than adequate.
The amp itself is definitely impressive, I've just acquired a Schiit Mjolnir (First Gen) and I'd say the Jot is snapping at it's heels. A great All-in-One unit for sure!
What headphones will you be using?

Thx for the info m8. Actually I plan on using it with a Audeze lcd2 which does not even require that much power TBH. But I plan on buying other headphones in the future which may require more power. Hence why I was looking at the jotunheim. Since it's an all rounder it can be paired up with most headphones.Unless I want a tube amp for the tube sounds but that is for another day

I hear the Audeze do scale quite well with more power on tap, for someone like you it's hard not to look at the Jot! Another alternative is the Asgard 2 but the Jot is more alluring if you're looking at balanced config down the track!
Good luck mate!